matthys and myself are wondering whether or not the 1300m high granite wall called "monster" in cochamo valley is the highest granite wall on the planet. not that we saw it, we had only 3 days to explore the area and managed to set eyes on "trinidad" which rises a jaw dropping 1000m from the jungle covered mountain slopes; along with at least 8 or 9 other big walls ranging in the 500m+ range. monster requires a 2 day walk in and then a half day of scrambling to get to it's base.

typical of te area, trinidad is a golden granite monolith; it sports a steeply angled base, then a dead vertical / overhanging middle section and the last third shapes into an oval dome. it is a half days hike on jungle trails to get your first views of the never ending walls in this insane valley. there are currently only a 100 big wall routes and there must be potential for thousands. some call it Chile's yosemite; others feel that it's bigger and badder than that......

i think "monster" has one or two routes on it; one being 1200m long and going at 5.12d. go check it out......

the place is utterly insane and magically beautiful...... the climbers we met there tend to do the half day hike to a very nice camp site at the base of the first big walls. you can rent a horse or two from the locals to ferry gear and food in. there is also a refugio in summer that offers food and lodging. due to the difficult access i can't see it ever becoming a crowded place, no way to build road into the valley. a thousand routes waiting to be opened......